Directions to the Studio

Inara's studio is located in Parkmerced, a residential complex next door to San Francisco State Univ. and 19th Ave. Click here for a Google Map overview and easy access to driving directions.

IN CONCERT

Inara and her singer daughter, Ariela, were featured in a cabaret recital on the Old First Concert series. You can hear several CD-quality audio cuts on this MySpace Music page and view several videos on YouTube.

In the News

A Golden Gate [X]Press newspaper article by reporter Jackie Bernardo on a 2008 recital at San Francisco State University:

...Morgenstern said they select the pieces that they will perform together by combing through piano books that have songs meant for two pianists. She said they also search for ideas on the internet, using YouTube, the San Francisco Chronicle and New York Times for guidance. For the Spooky Concert, Morgenstern said the pair particularly looked on Amazon.com for ideas.

"Sometimes I just fall in love with [a song] and think, 'We have to play this,'" said Morgenstern.

Neve also described their collaboration process as “efficient” because the two have worked together for such a long time and understand each other well. She said it's a joint process in which they seldom disagree on their final selection of pieces.

"By now, we have a lot of resources," said Neve. "We're always keeping our eyes open to new things [and] have such a big repertoire... [We] mix and match a lot of what we've done in the past."

Morgenstern said she likes to play contemporary, toe-tapping music and some crossover pieces with styles from the Romanticism movement. To the contrary, she said Neve is much more adventurous with her music and likes to play more difficult songs that have beautiful sound effects. "[Neve's pianistic style] is forth-right and crisp [and] is much more vigorous," said Morgenstern.

Neve also described the differences between her and Morgenstern's piano styles. "[Morgenstern] is a wonderful pianist," said Neve. "She is willing to try old [techniques] in new ways."

An article on pianist and teacher William Corbett-Jones on a classical music news site:

Students and friends alike speak almost reverently of Dr Jones's limitless knowledge of music and music history. S.F. State Professor, Inara Morgenstern, who has known Corbett-Jones for 50 years and studied with him many years ago states, "I decided the life of the musician was for me because of Bill Jones. Every time I teach my own students, I hear his echo although I could never match his gentleness and generosity nor his awe inspiring mastery and vast repertoire. He could launch into innumerable classics out of the blue. A rare gift! Generous with his knowledge, insatiably curious about everything."

Guest pianist William Wellborn joined professors Inara Morgenstern, Roger Woodward and Victoria Neve in an April performance of J.S. Bach's Concerto in C Major for Three Keyboards and Concerto in A Minor for Four Keyboards.

A "Bewitching performance"

Pianists Victoria Neve and Inara Morgenstern were featured in a Chronicle of Higher Education article on academics who celebrate Halloween by wearing costumes on the job:

For the past 20 years, Morgenstern and Neve have performed a Halloween concert of "spooky" classical works such as "Funeral March of a Marionette" while dressed up in witches' costumes. "One time we decided to dress like angels," said Neve, "but we didn't think it worked very well. We thought: We're teachers. We're witches. So we went right back to the witches the next year."